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Tesla Says Autopilot System Not to Blame for Dutch Crash

posted by janrinok on Thursday September 08 2016, @05:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the speed-kills dept.

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

WBTV, CBS television affiliate for Charlotte, NC reports

Tesla Motors says the Model S sedan involved in a fatal crash in the Netherlands wasn't operating in the company's semi-autonomous Autopilot mode and was going more than 96 miles per hour when it crashed.

The 53-year-old driver of the electric sedan died [September 6] when his car smashed into a tree in the central Dutch town of Baarn and burst into flames, police and firefighters said. Police are investigating the cause of the early morning accident in the town 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Amsterdam.

Tesla said the car's logs show Autopilot wasn't engaged at any time during the man's trip, and that he was driving at more than 155 kilometers per hour, or 96 mph. The speed is consistent with the damage the car sustained from hitting the tree, the company said. Tesla sent representatives to the scene of the accident.

Electrek adds

The driver was reportedly dead by the time the firefighters were on the scene.

[...] The fire was difficult to extinguish according to the firefighters. They reportedly didn't know how to approach the vehicle without being electrocuted--leaving the body of the driver in the vehicle.

[...] Apparently, the problem wasn't due to a lack of knowledge on how to handle a crashed electric vehicle, but because of the state of the wreckage. [...] "This car is completely destroyed, hampering the recovery. In this situation, you never know what can happen."

Some of the battery modules reportedly fell out of the battery pack after the crash and subsequent fire.

Original Submission

[Eds Comment: The speed limit on the road was 90 kph / 56 mph. The vehicle is assessed to have been travelling at 154 kph/ 96 mph
See also: https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?sid=15392&cid=398721]

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @03:28AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @03:28AM (#399478)

    This corroborates my initial reaction to the news item and my title as submitted:
    Tesla Driver Slams into Tree; Dies.

    If you're going to show your ass, don't screw up.
    If you screw up, expect to be pointed at as an example of what not to do.

    Thexalon, below, hits some of the fine points.
    Being an advocate of Openness, I find the AC's response to him to be noteworthy as well.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]